Egypt entered the record books here on Sunday, beating Ghana 1-0 in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with supersub Mohamed ‘Gedo’ Nagy lifting the Pharaohs to their third straight title.

Gedo, who has scored from the bench in Egypt’s last four games in Angola, came on in the 63rd minute and produced his magic with five minutes left on the clock to cement Egypt’s standing as the kings of Africa.

The win also gave Egyptian coach Hassan Shehata a history-making third championship and extended Egypt’s unbeaten record in the competition to an astonishing 19 games.

Egypt were unchanged from the XI that crushed Algeria 4-0 in the semi-finals save for the absence of suspended defender Mahmoud Fatalla – former Spurs midfielder Hossam Ghaly started in his place.

Fears that striker Emad Motaeb may have to miss the final due to a hamstring strain proved unfounded.

Ghana named an identical line-up to their last four win over Nigeria, with captain Richard Kingson taking up residence between the posts despite a late fitness scare.

The Black Stars made it to the final playing pragmatic rather than beautiful football, but they began in enterprising fashion, matching the Egyptians for speed and dexterity.

In-form striker Asamoah Gyan had an early shot go high over the Pharaoh’s crossbar and Serie A-based Kwadwo Asamoah had a long range effort safely scooped up by Essam al-Hadary as the supposed ‘underdogs’ counter attacked with menace.

Down at the other end Egypt were proving slippery down their right flank.

On 25 minutes Kingson, clearly feeling his injury, had Mohamed Zidan’s long ranger covered by the far post.

Towards the end of the first period both skipper Ahmed Hassan, on his 172nd international appearance, and Motaeb, failed to connect with a floating 25m Egyptian freekick into the box.

Honours even it was as the sides re-emerged after the break with the 50,000 capacity Chinese-built stadium by now three-quarters full and the near 40 degree heat which greeted the players at kick-off cooling down as night fell.

Opoku Agyemang went into Mali referee Coulibaly Koman’s book for an ill-judged tackle on Ahmed al-Mohamady and not to be outdone Egypt’s Sayed Moawad picked up a yellow card seconds later for handball.

Koman had his hand in his pocket again to fish out a card for al-Mohamady after a collision with Opoku, with Gyan’s resulting 28m freekick edging over the woodwork.

Yesterday Tim Cahill marked his 150th league start for Everton with the winning goal at Wigan’s DW Stadium.

He has proved an incredible success for the Toffees and considering Everton paid just £1.5million for the Aussie he’s proved a steal.

Everton boss David Moyes took a gamble on a Championship player and has been rewarded handsomely with goals, loyalty and hard work.

Cahill’s rise from Championship player to top Premier League midfielder got me thinking about some other players who were signed from lower league sides and have proved bargains. Here are some that spring to mind.

Success Stories

Tim Cahill (Everton)

When Tim Cahill played for Millwall lots of Premier League scouts and teams watched him but didn’t think he was good enough to play in midfield. They just couldn’t see how to fit him in their teams. However David Moyes knew exactly what he was getting and developed a formation which got the best out of the Aussie.

And ever since he signed he’s popped up with important goals and generally been a nuisance to defenders. He never gives up and has shown tremendous loyalty to Everton. He had been linked with the likes of Barcelona and Juventus but stayed at Everton. He may be getting older but the goals still keep coming and he must be one of the best bargains in the last few years.

Joleon Lescott (Everton)

When David Moyes signed a relatively unknown injury-prone defender from Wolves eyebrows were raised and questions asked over the alleged £5million fee. However in the following three years Lescott proved a superb player for the club and forged a solid partnership with Phil Jagielka last season. He also won his first international caps while at Goodison Park.

A controversial move to Manchester City for a fee believed to be £23million might have caused Moyes great frustration and annoyance but the deal meant the club made a huge profit on a player who has failed to impress at Eastlands. He proved a bargain for Everton but probably won’t for City.

Chris Smalling (Fulham, soon to be Manchester United)

The 20 year-old might not have caused a big impact so far in his Fulham career but he’s caused such a stir that Manchester United have already agreed to sign the defender next summer. The youngster has impressed enough in his limited amount of appearances to win his first under-21 caps for England.

Fulham signed him from Maidstone United in the summer of 2008 for a fee of just £50,000. The Cottagers boss Roy Hodgson must be delighted to have snapped up the youngster. And although the fee hasn’t been revealed the Cottagers are likely to make a major profit on the youngster.

Scott Dann (Birmingham)

When Alex McLeish signed the 22 year-old from Coventry there were questions over whether the young Liverpudlian would prove good enough for the Premier League. The youngster has blown away any doubts over his ability as he has helped Birmingham become one toughest teams to score against in the Premier League. The £3.5million fee seems like a steal for a young man who appears to have a big future ahead of him.

Roger Johnson (Birmingham)

Just like central-defensive partner Dann there were questions marks over his signing when he arrived from Cardiff City in the summer. The big defender has earned rave reviews alongside Dann in the Birmingham defence and some have even spoken of an England call-up for the 26 year-old. That might prove difficult for the ex- Wycombe captain but like so many in the Birmingham side, he has proved a lot of doubters wrong.

Future

According to recent reports Wigan has signed Crystal Palace striker Victor Moses. Could he prove to be the next Championship star to prove a star in the Premier League, only time will tell, but the youngster seems to have all the attributes to become a very good player.

It also seems that Leeds hotshot Jermaine Beckford could be heading for the Premier League next summer. Everton are being strongly linked with the former Wealdstone star and could sign him on a free transfer in July. Surely Beckford couldn’t step straight into the Premier League and carry on scoring so many goals. Or could he?

Cautionary tale

He seems a natural goal scorer but stepping up into the Premier League isn’t easy, just ask my namesake David Nugent at Portsmouth. He is the cautionary tale of a good Championship player moving to a Premier League side and being completely out of his depth. Thankfully though he has had a better time with Burnley and it looks as if he could sign for the Clarets permanently.

Answer

The above players all proved that there are good players plying their trades in the lower leagues of English football. It may be hard for Premier League sides to find them but they do exist. Maybe signing players from the lower leagues is the answer to the issue of too many expensive foreign imports.

The likes of David Moyes, Roy Hodgson and Alex McLeish think it’s the answer; maybe the other managers should take heed and follow their colleagues. They may just sign a few gems of their own.

Roma took advantage of second-placed AC Milan being held 1-1 at home by Livorno to catch up with them in Serie A on Sunday by beating basement side Siena 2-1 with the help of a remarkable Stefano Okaka goal.

Okaka, who is expected to join Premier League side Fulham on Monday, back-heeled a cross from fellow substitute Adrian Pit to seal victory in the 88th minute.

Second-placed Milan’s hopes of taking a big chunk out of Inter Milan’s lead after their city rivals’ visit to Parma was snowed off were dashed by Cristiano Lucarelli’s 53rd-minute goal after Massimo Ambrosini had put them in front just before half-time.

Milan have 41 points from 21 games, eight points less than Inter, at the end of a disappointing eight days in which they were knocked out of the Italian Cup by Udinese and lost last weekend’s derby to Inter 2-0.

Third-placed Roma also have 41 points although they have played one game more after beating Siena despite being depleted in attack, with captain Francesco Totti, Luca Toni and Mirko Vucinic all unfit.

At the San Siro Milan tried to seize the initiative from the outset.

But Livorno were well organised and proved difficult to break down until Ambrosini hooked in with the help of a blunder by keeper Francesco Benussi, who gifted the midfielder the ball in front of goal when he flapped at a David Beckham cross.

Ronaldinho had come closest before that when he thumped the post with a right-footed strike from the edge of the area in the 36th.

Both sides had penalty appeals denied after Lucarelli poked in a mis-hit Claudio Bellucci shot and Benussi produced a fine save to repel an Ambrosini header, while Klaas-Jan Huntelaar knocked a good chance over.

“We lacked that little something,” Milan coach Leonardo said.

“We went into the game after these (bad) results and we needed a good performance.

“We didn’t play a great match but it wasn’t bad either. We didn’t take our chances against a side that came to defend.”

John Arne Riise, who scored a stoppage-time winner against Juventus last weekend, gave Roma a deserved lead with a spectacular left-footed volley into the far corner in the 29th minute.

The visitors responded four minutes before half-time when Simone Vergassola touched in the rebound of a Mato Jajalo effort only to come away empty handed because of Okaka’s ingenuity.

“The goal was really satisfying. I wanted to put on a beautiful performance,” Okaka said.

“I’m going to England to improve myself. This opportunity came up and I couldn’t say no.”

Midfielder Marco Marchionni tucked away a deflected cross to put them ahead in the eighth minute.

Cagliari’s Andrea Lazzari charged into the area and unleashed a thunderbolt to equalise in the 36th minute and in the 48th defender Davide Astori headed in for the Sardinian side, who had Andrea Cossu sent off for a second yellow card soon after.

Guti showed he deserves a spot in Spain’s World Cup squad with a sublime assist during Real Madrid’s 3-1 win at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, according to Deportivo coach Miguel Angel Lotina.

“After what I saw, Guti should take part in the World Cup,” he said.

French striker Karim Benzema scored shortly before half-time during the match at Deportivo La Coruna?s Riazor stadium after Guti set him up with a cunning backheel following a pass from Kaka.

“I saw him (Benzema) out of the corner of my eye, the goalkeeper was coming towards me and I thought he had an easier chance. In football it is important to give the ball to a better placed colleague,” Guti said after the match.

“I think we showed we’re a great team. Despite all the injured players, the team has fought hard and showed what is needed to wear this shirt.”

Guti’s heroics during the match won him heaps of praise in the Spanish media on Sunday, just weeks after he appeared to be out of favour with Real coach Manuel Pellegrini.

“Guti’s pass will be remembered 30 years from now. Football fans will remember it as a monument of class and creativity. And calmness and courage,” wrote sports daily Marca.

“He dared pull out an unforgettable stroke of genius. He is a unique player built with the materials of geniuses. Few footballers in the history of Real Madrid have been more brilliant,” it added.

Rival sports daily AS dubbed Guti’s move the “golden heel flick”.

“Football isn’t about wearing down the opponent with shots, but rather about winning in style. Guti converted a play on goal into a piece of art,” it said.

England striker Wayne Rooney scored the 100th Premier League goal of his career here on Sunday when he rifled home Manchester United’s second goal against titlechasing rivals Arsenal in the first-half.

The 24-year-old – who scored 15 for previous club Everton – has been in a rich vein of form of late and it was his 22nd goal in all competitions this season, making light of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure for Real Madrid.

Emmanuel Adebayor signalled his return to the Manchester City starting line-up with the opening goal as City defeated crisis club Portsmouth 2-0 at Eastlands.

Adebayor had not started for his club since returning home early from the African Cup of Nations earlier this month following the terrifying gun assault on the Togo team bus in Cabinda that left three backroom staff dead.

However, he told City manager Roberto Mancini on Saturday that he felt mentally strong enough to start the match and rewarded his manager’s faith with a 40th minute opener.

Vincent Kompany added a further first half goal in injury time which ensured City could bounce back following their shattering League Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United last Wednesday.

These two sides may play in the same division but they are in different leagues financially.

City are the richest club in the world whereas Portsmouth face the ignominy of a winding-up order to be served on the club on February 10 if they do not somehow resolve their dire financial situation before then.

Chief executive Peter Storrie also said last week that his role is becoming increasingly untenable because of the boardroom problems, summed up by news that Portsmouth were trying to sell Younes Kaboul and Asmir Begovic without his knowledge.

Matters are little better on the pitch either and they had won one of their last six before this encounter to leave them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League.

However, they surprised everybody at the City of Manchester stadium by starting as the brighter side.

After three minutes, Danny Webber delivered a cross which Shay Given juggled to the feet of John Utaka close out but he wasted the glorious chance by firing over.

Jamie O’Hara, who has rejoined Portsmouth on-loan from Tottenham Hotspur, then also went close as he drove a low shot into the City goalmouth which Given did well to smother.

In what was generally a disappointing opening period, both sides were happy to merely amble along but City were not helped when they lost Pablo Zabaleta to a suspected broken nose after a heavy aerial challenge with Kevin Boateng.

As they tried to temporarily readjust with only 10 men, Portsmouth had the best chance when superb interplay between Danny Webber and Boateng gave Anthony Vanden Borre the chance to shoot but he hit the crossbar.

And Portsmouth were left to almost instantly rue that miss as Adebayor chased down Stephen Ireland’s through ball and smashed past David James to open the scoring.

It broke Pompey’s resistance and before they knew it, they were a further goal down as Petrov swung a corner in during first-half injury time and Kompany rose unmarked to head past James.

Although City had a two-goal advantage, they by no means dominated the game following the re-start in an atmosphere that was generally flat. The loss to United had clearly deflated both the players and City’s supporters with both just happy to see a win and little else.

They were also up against a Portsmouth side that look far more composed and skilled than a team that has acquired just 15 points this season and certainly made the game harder than City were perhaps anticipating.

Yet real chances remained elusive although Webber did fall over at one stage when trying to shoot, much to his embarrassment.

As the clock ticked down, talking points remained virtually non-existent as City were willing to sit back and wait for the final whistle while the visitors failed to ask any serious questions and although Carlos Tevez hit the post with 11 minutes remaining, further goals never seemed likely.

Welcome to Soccerway’s live coverage of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations final between Ghana and Egypt. Today’s match features two of the most successful teams in tournament history, Egypt having won the trophy six times while Ghana won the cup on four occasions.

Final score: 0-1

Full Time: EGYPT WIN THE 2010 AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS!!! And by doing so, they become the very first team to win it a third time in a row!!!

Minute 90+3: Ghana very close to the equaliser but Addo fails to get a decent shot in and the ball is for El Hadary.

Minute 90+3: Hassan is stretchered off, which will certainly add a minute or so to this game.

Minute 90+1: Three minutes are to be added on as Ghana desperately look for the equaliser.

Minute 90: A shot from Badu misses the target.

Minute 89: Egypt with their last substitution. Moatasem replaces Fathi. On Ghana’s side meanwhile, Opoku comes off and Addo comes on in his place.

Minute 88: Gedo is practically certain of becoming tournament top scorer, but more importantly, Egypt are very close to winning their third African title in a row.

Minute 87: Ghana now make a change as key player Gyan comes off for Adiyiah.

Minute 85: GOAL EGYPT!!! And it is Gedo with his fifth of the tournament! The substitute exchanges passes with Zidan to break through Ghana’s defense, and sends a diagonal shot past Kingson.

Minute 84: Ghana have not made a single change so far. Should the match go into extra time, this could certainly be a big advantage. Egyptian made two substitutions.

Minute 82: Hosny appears to have hurt his leg and comes off for treatment, but gets back up on his feet the moment he arrives to the sideline.

Minute 80: Ghana are now the more dangerous team. A low pass Samuel Inkoom rolls in front of the Egyptian goal but is met by no-one.

Minute 79: Gyan takes it and forces El Hadary to deliver a save. Well-taken free kick with a corner as result, which comes to nothing.

Minute 77: Free kick to Ghana in a rather dangerous position.

Minute 76: Play is resumed, with less than 15 minutes to go in regular time.

Minute 75: The match is paused for a moment as Egypt keeper El Hadary receives treatment on his ankle.

Minute 75: Gyan with another effort but this time his shot goes a few meters over the crossbar.

Minute 74: Ghana want a free kick at about 18 meters from the goal but the referee waves play on.

Minute 70: Suber-sub Gedo comes on for Moateb, and will aim to score a fifth goal and secure the top scorer’s trophy.

Minute 69: Egypt are now the dominant team, as the defending champions try to force a decision in regular time.

Minute 68: Chance for Egypt as Moateb collects a pass near the edge of the penalty area but fails to control properly, allowing Kingson to avoid further danger.

Minute 67: Corner for Egypt, taken by Zidan, but it is easily collected by Kingson.

Minute 64: Gyan of French outfit Stade Rennes is without a doubt the most influential man for Ghana in this match.

Minute 62: Good chance for Ghana as Gyan’s shot goes only just wide of Egypt’s left post. El Hadary realizes just in time that he should not touch the ball and avoids a corner.

Minute 60: Ghaly is booked for a foul on Ghana’s Kwadwo Asamoah.

Minute 58: Hossam Ghaly has a lot of space to shoot but his effort goes wide of the left post.

Minute 57: First substitution of the match as Egypt’s Moawad comes off for Abdelshafi.

Minute 53: Gyan takes a free kick and it goes only just over the Egyptian bar. El Hadary even got a hand to it but his touch was not spotted by the referee.

Minute 52: The third yellow card of the match goes to Ahmed Al Muhamadi for a foul on Anthony Annan.

Minute 51: Today’s referee is Koman Coulibaly from Mali. The 39-year-old also led the group match between Zambia and Tunisia on January 13.

Minute 48: And even the amount of bookings is back in the balance as Moawad is yellow-carded as well.

Minute 47: The first yellow card of the match goes to Ghana’s Opuku.

Minute 48: An Egyptian free kick from the right wing is easily cleared by Ghana’s defense.

Minute 46: The second half is underway. Will these 45 minutes be enough or will extra time be needed?

Half Time: The first half is over and neither side has really managed to make a difference so far. Egypt were slightly more dangerous in front of Ghana’s goals but keepers Kingson and El Hadary were given little to do up till now.

Minute 45: Almost half time in Luanda and the match could still go either way.

Minute 41: Hassan delivered a free kick which goes only just past the head of Hosny at the second post.

Minute 40: A quiet phase in the match as neither side seems too willing to take much risk in the last minutes of the first half.

Minute 37: Saied didn’t need long to recover and return to the pitch. He did not miss much in the mean time.

Minute 33: Egypt’s Hany Saied is stretchered off after a clash with Badu, and receives treatment on the sidelines.

Minute 31: Play is slowly shifting from midfield to the two goal areas, with Egypt putting particular pressure on their opponents at this point.

Minute 30: Emad Moateb with a cross from the right but it’s missed by both teammates and opponents.

Minute 28: Danger on the left wing as Gyan tries to deliver a cross, but the ball is blocked by an Egyptian defender and goes out for a throw-in.

Minute 26: Zidan tries his luck with a low shot from well outside the penalty area, but the ball rolls wide of the right post.

Minute 24: Asamoah delivers a good shot on goal but keeper El Hadary is well positioned and collects the ball.

Minute 23: As is the case with many tournament finals, today’s match has not been particularly entertaining in the first quarter of the game.

Minute 21: Tournament top scorer so far, Egypt’s Gedo, started on the bench and hopes to be given a chance to add to his four goals later on. Ahmed Hassan and Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan each scored three so far and are still in the race to win the tournament’s top scorer award as well.

Minute 18: Ahmed Hassan tries a shot for Egypt but it lacks precision and sails over Ghana’s goal.

Minute 14: Ghana have a free kick on the right wing. Asamoah swings it in and Emmanuel Badu almost gets a foot in. First dangerous moment of the match.

Minute 13: Ghana and Egypt last met in a friendly in February last year. That match ended in a 2-2 result.

Minute 9: Ghana have a free kick at 30 meters from Egypt’s goal. Asamoah Gyan’s effort hits the wall and goes out of a corner, which then causes little danger.

Minute 7: First corner kick of the match and it goes Egypt’s way. Ghana goalkeeper Kingson controls and the danger passes.

Minute 5: The ball hasn’t really left midfield so far, as both sides fail to deliver a good final pass while the two defenses seem to be well concentrated.

Minute 2: The opening two minutes are rather fast-paced although there has been no danger near either goal yet.

Minute 1: The match is underway!

Minute 0: The anthems are being played at the Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda, Angola. First Ghana’s anthem, then Egypt’s.

Minute 0: Egypt are defending champions, having won the Africa Cup in 2008, and also came out victoriously two years earlier. Ghana last won the trophy in 1982, when they beat Libya on penalties in the final.

Minute 0: Although Egypt and Ghana have won the tournament ten times between the two of them and appeared in a total of 14 finals, they have never actually met in a final before.